Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joy in the Fellowship of God
A Psalm of David (A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
(B)My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see (C)Your power and Your glory.
3 (D)Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will (E)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with [a]marrow and [b]fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When (F)I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall [c]fall by the sword;
They shall be [d]a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
(G)Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to (A)Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, (B)whose son is this youth?”
And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul (C)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
So David answered, (D)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Saul Resents David
18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, (E)the [a]soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, (F)and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, (G)and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a (H)covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.
5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and [b]behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed
15 Then (A)the seventh angel sounded: (B)And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, (C)“The [a]kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, (D)and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And (E)the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and (F)worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One (G)who is and who was [b]and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power (H)and reigned.
18 The nations were (I)angry, and Your [c]wrath has come,
And the time of the (J)dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then (K)the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of [d]His covenant was seen in His temple. And (L)there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, (M)and great hail.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.